Apple is now being accused of stealing the idea of bounceback scrolling from Atari. However, there is a flaw in the argument of a so-called law pundit who describes the action as “professional theft”. Late CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs worked on the product in question when he was employed at Atari.
Apple was able to convince the jury in its case against Samsung in California that Samsung had copied elements of its iPad and iPhone. One particular feature that Apple was able to demonstrate that Samsung had copied was the bounce back scrolling. However, now a report is claiming that Apple stole the idea from the Atari game Pong.
Incidentally, Steve Jobs’s first job was at Atari, where he and Steve Wozniak worked on a game called Breakout, which was a multiplayer version of Pong.
LawPundint writes: “The essential principle of bounce-back scrolling becomes obvious if you play the famed Atari game Pong.” He adds: “Whenever the ball hits the paddle, that is a ‘bounce-back’ and if it does not hit the paddle, there is no ‘bounce-back’.”
Forbes suggests that this isn’t a fair accusation. Their report states: “Bounce back in Pong is completely different from bounce back in list scrolling.” However, that report goes on to hint that perhaps the patent system is flawed if a patent was valid in 2012 for something that’s been around since 1972.
While it may be the case that Atari owned the intellectual property for the work Jobs and Woz did when employed there, it was when Jobs was working at Apple that the patent was applied for.
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Comments received
Xhris2210 said on Thu, 30 Aug 2012
Mind bogglingly stupid claim. Bounce back in scrolling is a sort of inertial stop that indicates you've come to the edge of whatever's being scrolled.
That's rather different in intent to pixel elements simply rebounding off each other - something I'm pretty sure Apple isn't claiming to copyright as virtually every game and most animations have employed that since the 70s.
This is a specific feature of a touch OS and where the effect is applied to a touch OS there's a far more specific proprietary claim.
It may seem 'natural' to us now, but someone in the Apple team worked up that concept and how it would be engineered. If it were my work I'd expect to be recompensed. If such things are used under our present economic system it should surely be acknowledged and licensed.
beartoe said on Thu, 30 Aug 2012
It's a specious argument. List 'bounce-back' is by no means obvious. It's like saying that it's obvious if you've ever bounced a basketball. Way, WAY too much of a stretch.
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